Bad Company DESOLATION ANGELS

Bad Company: Paul Rodgers (vocals, piano, guitar); Mick Ralphs (guitar); Boz Burrell (bass); Simon Kirke (drums).
Digitally remastered by Ted Jensen.
Audio Remasterer: Ted Jensen.
DESOLATION ANGELS is arguably the band's best album since its bedrock laden debut. Coming in at the tail end of the '70s, Bad Company finally began to incorporate other elements to its no frills rock approach, making DESOLATION ANGELS the band's most diverse recording. The straight-ahead drive of "Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy" subtly employs electronic drums that merely accent rather than takeover. The acoustic based "Crazy Circles" reveals that even without pounding rock behind him, Paul Rodgers is a singer nearly without peer.
The western flavored "Evil Wind" brings Rodgers love of outlaw imagery to the fray and the band soon departs to the fully countryfied "Oh Atlanta," and gives Little Feat a run for its money. The presence of the album on FM radios across the country at the end of the decade confirmed what Bad Company laid bare five years prior--in an era where overblown art rock was revered, there was still a thirst for rock in its purest form.

• Format: CD
• Released: 05/20/2008
• Genre: Pop